Rethink Real Estate

In this inspiring and deeply human episode of Rethink Real Estate, Ben Brady sits down with Long Doan — Vietnamese refugee turned powerhouse Broker/CEO and Founder of Realty Group — to unpack one of the most remarkable growth journeys in modern real estate. Long shares the story that shaped his entire life: escaping Vietnam alone at age 13, surviving a refugee camp nicknamed “Hell’s Island,” and using that experience to build a 650-agent independent brokerage rooted in service, culture, and leadership.Long breaks down the real foundation behind Realty Group’s meteoric rise: building a people-first company where alignment, relationship-building, omnipresent branding, and agent empowerment beat every traditional brokerage model. He details the systems behind their 12-office footprint, 4,000+ annual transactions, and how they’ve engineered profitability in a shrinking-margin industry. From referrals to education, from culture to community, Long reveals exactly how their model evolved — and why helping others is